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Winslow Attempting to Atone for Derby Heartbreak by Defending Super Stocks Track Crown

By Chuck Corder

Everyone has subjects that make them ball up into the fetal position.

Twenty-four-year-old driver Bubba Winslow cringes each time someone brings up last year’s Super Stocks Snowball Derby. Not to throw salt on his wound, but Winslow dominating the 50 lapper before colliding with a lapped car on the final lap and his boyhood Derby dreams were dashed.

There are certainly words to describe his disappointment — dumbfounded and heartbroken come to mind — but Winslow’s scars are still fresh nine months later.

The Cantonment native and owner of two Faith Chapel Super Stocks track championships (2011, 2013) already at Five Flags Speedway is hoping a third crown can go a long way in easing his pain.

“It has been tough,� Winslow said of rebounding post-Derby. “We struggled the first half of the year. Re-clipping the car after the wreck really knocked our feet out from under us. But, the last two races we’ve made up some ground and I think we’re headed in the right direction.�

As he points out, Winslow has reason to feel excited going into Double Feature Night this Friday at the famed half-mile asphalt oval.

A sales contractor for Mingledorff Inc., a leading distributor of HVAC equipment throughout the southeast, Winslow sits second in the points standings — 10 points behind current leader Todd Jones of Pace.

With the two-feature format awaiting drivers for all four local classes racing Friday, a 10-point deficit is little ground to make up. That is, if things go your way, Winslow accurately identifies.

“It could be good, it could be bad,� he said. “We hope to be in the right position where we can close the gap. It’s a tough thing to do with only five or six races. That makes every race that much more important, and so a chance like this, you have to make the most of.�

The Super Stocks along with the Pro Trucks, Beef “O� Brady’s Sportsman and Butler U-Pull-It Bombers will all get more bang for their buck Friday thanks to Double Feature Night at America’s Favorite Home Track.

It’s $10 for all adults to get through the grandstands gates, which open at 4 p.m. Friday; $7 for children ages 6 to 11; and free for kids 5 and under.

Winslow thought all his aspirations had come to fruition last December.

After winning the track title less than 3 months earlier, he qualified on the pole and led nearly every one of the 50 feature laps of the most prestigious Super Stocks race in the country.

On the white-flag lap, Winslow collided with a lapped car and, in the blink of an eye, his dream night was transformed into a nightmare.

“We started from ground zero, and we’ve been playing catch-up since,� he said. “This is basically a new car and we’ve readjusted everything. We’ve worked our tails off between myself, my dad and grandpa.�

It marked yet another chapter in Winslow’s roller-coaster ride at Pensacola’s high banks.

“Every year there are different scenarios, different people going for the title,� the he said. “We still go at it the same way. We race the race and not the points. Every race is a new beginning for us.�

In 2012, the Tate High School alumnus came into the Night of Champions atop the Super Stocks’ standings.

But mechanical failures delayed Winslow’s quest for a second-career crown to 2013. As frustrating as it might be for others, Winslow takes all the ebbs and flows the sport throws at him in stride.

“We’re fortunate that for the last four years we’ve been contending for a championship,� he said. “But we’ve also been on both sides of winning and losing.�

Through all the highs and lows, Winslow has his wife Ashley and 4-year-old daughter Taylor there to keep him grounded.

Still, he’d love to cap his topsy-turvy season on Sept. 19 with another piece of hardware.

A couple of wins this Friday would go a long way in helping Winslow achieve his goal. And help leave his past horrors right where they belong.

“It’d be amazing, not just for me, but the whole team,� he said. “We never give up and are always trying things to get better. Another championship would show the type of drive my guys have.�

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